The French University System

Unlike the US where most teachers give out syllabi, the French university professors give you a list of books that they feel will be advantageous for you to read throughout the semester. And again unlike the US they do not give you specific sections to look over but simply give the author and title and leave it at that. When pressed for what will be covered in the semester they respond with a "show up and see" sort of response. Not that this is all bad but it is a bit of shock coming from the States where the professors make sure you know what will be covered and when, so that you can follow along, aka "hold your hand". However, being given 5 books to read and no direction as to what will correlate to the class is a little daunting to say the least, then take into account that it is in a foreign language and you can see how I am a little stressed. Additionally class time is spent with the professor talking at not to you without power points or other electronic visual aids and you have to hope that in each class the professor remembers chaulk or a dry erase marker so that they can attempt to draw simple illustrations. Also there is no formal structure to the lectures and tangents and asides are common as are repetition, which makes it all the more difficult to follow along and nearly impossible to take notes!
And the French final exam systems... they are comprehensive, no shock there, of the entire semester but the approach to the final is much different; 1) they tell you it will be during the week of finals, no date 2) that it will cover what is talked about in class, again not shocking 3) you will be given 1 maybe 2 questions to answer and usually you are given 15 lines to give a precise and detailed answer. Its that last bit that I am having issues understanding, how am I supposed to answer a complex question in detail while pulling from an entire semester of convoluted information and fit it all into 15 lines? And one question, that doesnt give much room for error and 15 lines definitely doesnt give room to talk your way around a subject that you are trying to describe in detail.
While reading this, it doesnt sound that difficult and if in the States I might not have a problem but as I face the thought of having to 1) comprehend the questions 2) think in French about how to best respond and 3) then write precise responses, it is more than a little unnerving. However knowing that this system makes it very difficult for one to pass the French University system has built-in re-take periods about 3 weeks after the first exam to give you a second chance, seeing as how you will most likely fail the first go around. To me if your setup is so difficult that you have to allot a week for re-takes I would thing they would add a little more direction to the students and only give them one chance to pass (refer to French bureaucracy, for explication of the French thought process). Yet I understand, different country, different history, different culture and a different outlook on education.
I think the biggest issue Im having with all of this, and Im going to be really honest here, is that Im actually going to have to study and prepare for finals. That being said I believe I just annuled all of the previous concerns and you now understand why Im complaining!